our report from our chief foreign correspondent, andrea mitchell. >> reporter: merrill newman, seen in these images broadcast over the state-run tv, was according to friends in his former combat unit, one of the leaders of an elite team fighting in the korean war. in fact, when the 85-year-old veteran was pulled off a plane he was planning to go to south korea and reunite with some of his former troops who were waiting for him there. one said i wouldn't go there, north korea would think i was a spy or something. a friend from that unit, allen hedges, told us he believes that is why newman is being held. >> the charges are false, i'll tell you that. i was there with him. we never killed anybody or anything and we never advocated killing. >> reporter: after six weeks, newman was seen signing an alleged apology for his actions during the war, but there is no way of verifying the so-called confession or under what circumstances newman read it. at home in california, his wife leigh worries about his health. >> when you don't know where your husband of 56 years is, you don't know his health,